Yesterday I posed the question "How good is Tiger Woods?". Today, we got the answer - he is very good!The 18 hole play-off for the US Open, the toughest test in golf, was compelling viewing. Woods was ahead by 3 shots after 10 holes, and poised for a comfortable win. Suddenly though, a couple of Woods bogeys and a run of three straight birdies by Rocco Mediate changed the game, as Mediate led by one shot playing the 18th. Here's the full story from PGATour.com.
This was the greatest major I have ever watched, and I've been watching golf on the TV since the 1960's when we had the black and white coverage of Palmer, Nicklaus and Player. This Championship (as I said earlier, always the toughest test in golf) had everything - a magnificent course in superb condition, a great field, and any amount of high drama. The play-off today was a proper David vs Goliath battle, and just when it looked like the little guy would win, the giant dug deep.
Tiger Woods is a superb golfer. It's hard to make comparisons between the ages, but he is arguably the best to have ever played the game. But this week, he has revealed something else - he has an incredible spirit. The legends tell of the tactics his father used to make Tiger mentally tough - and they worked. In the last few days, he has overcome the physical vulnerability of his damaged knee, and toughed it out, to emerge triumphant. He ranks today's victory as his greatest achievement in golf, and who would argue? It may even become THE greatest achievement in golf.
Postscript: Don't underestimate the contribution that Steve Williams makes to Tiger Woods's success - this article from the ESPN website gives a great insight into the big guy alongside Tiger!
3 comments:
Don't forget our Bob Charles was also a regular participant in those 1960's golf shows.
Is he now `Our Greatest Living New Zealander'?
Quite possibly pdm - I had the pleasure of watching Bob Charles from close range when he won the NZ Open at Hokowhitu in 1973. He is indeed a legend.
I am not a golfer.
In 2005 I was on a coach tour through Scotland with NZers,Aussies, Canadians and USAmericans. We stopped for 2 hours in St Andrews. The British Open was being played. Some of us wandered down to the course and stood and watched, outside the barrier alongside the 18th hole, as some unknowns finished. Nearby was the little stone bridge that features in so many St Andrews photo-ops. By the time we learnt that Tiger Woods was on the 7th, and that for $60 we could go onto the course, we were about 40 mins from coach assembly time. We arrived back and suggested we stay another couple of hours and for $60 could watch the legend,who was playing so well, and went on to win one of the most famous tournaments in the world on arguably one of the best golf courses in the world. No, the group had been promised shopping time two hours up the road.
This is a major reason that we now travel independently. Such a wasted opportunity.
So Bob Charles our greatest living NZer? Not while the shops are open.
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